Senet
by cdcase
Summary: Senet, the Game of Passing, an ancient Egyptian funeral game. Four years after the series concludes, Yugi plays this ancient Egyptian pastime. Originally thinking it was a simple board game, he discovers more of its true implications.R&R!


Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! But there was no copyright back in ancient Egypt, so where does that leave Senet?

Summary: Egyptian Senet, _the _oldest board game recovered in all of mankind's history. Having recreational values as well as mystical and religious ones, it simple layout deceives its true nature. Four years after the series concludes, Yugi finds himself playing a leisure game of Senet with Bakura. The game teaches the differences between "passing on" for the dead and "moving on" for the living.

A couples notes before you begin:

There's a bunch of different ways to play Senet. Sometimes they used seven pieces instead of five. Sometimes their starting point was the House of Rebirth. And how did I make these moves up? I used a random number generator on the internet, and made my own game board and used dimes and pennies for the playing pieces. I'm soooo traditional like that. And I think I wrote down one of the moves incorrectly—so don't take into account every move. :O

TLTLTLTLTLTLTL

Yugi paced along the museum hallway, carefully trying not to be overwhelmed at the nostalgia-invoking Egyptian artifacts. The exhibit was set up for the history-ignorant public; samples were labeled in the most general sense with little or no explanation to their significance. Not that the masses would care about the little glyphs or potsherds or tools of daily life. No, what crowned _any _Egyptian exhibit was it collection of the Pharaohs' gold, the mummies, and jeweled treasure.

Indeed, the latest excavation had struck the jack pot with its recent discovery. A multi-layered tomb was opened and revealing its bindings, exposing a three part sarcophagus. The first was an ornate bier, its hefty stone case obviously worn with the thousands of years it had endured. The first actual sarcophagus was of some sort of painted wood, followed by two inner smaller version of colored gold. The mummy, wrapped in deteriorated linen bandages and talismans, arms crossed with heqa scepter and flail, was peacefully dead inside the casket.

Yugi averted his eyes from this spectacle, looking at the enclosed beads, pots, and jars standing along the walls. Obsidian jackal guards and statues depicting gods of the Egyptian pantheon were on display as well. Recovered tables and trinkets were set up to mock daily life.

But of course, the "Caution: Slippery when Wet" cleaning signs destroyed the whole exhibition, reminding visitors that this was in fact a tacky display case of artifacts.

Yugi sighed as he walked and observed the displays. Nothing out of the ordinary. No reference to ancient duels where people's souls were wagered on the line. No power god-monster inscriptions. Not one reference to _his _friend.

Yugi then stopped in his tracks at a very peculiar display. It appeared to be a table game of some sort, with ten playing pieces arranged along the row of a three by ten board. Six of the squares had symbols engraved upon their place. Four sticks were laid beside it, their reverse sides a painted.

Beside the layout read the sign: "Oldest Known Pastime: Senet."

Yugi looked closer at the display, remembering playing the game for the first time many years ago. It was a pretty simple sport, in which the player's basic objective was to move his or her pieces off the board.

"Senet is the 'game of passing'," a voice explained beside Yugi.

Yugi turned, surprised at finding another soul within the otherwise empty museum. The young man beside him was lean and upright, with pale white skin and longer, unruly white hair. Friendly brown eyes sparkled in seeing an old friend. "Hello, Yugi," he said, offering a small, tired smile.

"Ryou!" Yugi exclaimed, clearly surprised at running into him after such long years. "It's been a long time. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm overseeing some of the artifacts that I helped scavenge," he admitted. "I wasn't expecting _anyone _in this city to be remotely interested, but it seems at least someone showed up."

The King of Games sighed, "That's the way it is these days. Like Kaiba said, we have to look to the future."

"Indeed," Bakura said. "But the present, it seems, demands a little of both spectrums of the timeline."

Yugi looked back at the Senet board game, "So you helped find some of these artifacts? That's pretty impressive. I'm glad to hear your career's going well."

"Thank you—and yours as well. How many tournaments have you won as of now?"

"Heh, heh," Yugi let out a modest chuckle.

"But yes, I helped with the dig. I'm still working for my Ph.D., though," Bakura disclosed.

"I heard now-a-days it's pretty hard to start an excavation," Yugi said. "Back then, all one needed was a team of diggers and maybe some historians. I read an article saying how now it costs over a million dollars for all the technical aspects needed to be incorporated into the dig."

Bakura nodded, "Yes, that's right, but we do what we can."

Another silence permeated the hall before Yugi spoke again, "So, did the team you were on find any inscriptions about this game? I know some rules already have been found, at least."

"Just the usual wall paintings that depict people playing—nothing that we do not already know," Bakura said. "Many times this game was played just for fun; however, it had a much more religious, mystic aspect to the Egyptians especially at times when someone passed away."

_That's right…_"You said it was the 'Game of Passing'?"

"Yes. It was played when someone died," Bakura elaborated. "To move all the aspects of one's spirit off the board meant the soul finally moved to the next world."

"I didn't know those pawn-like pieces represented the soul," Yugi found this interesting.

"The 'pawns' are called _yebau_—literally 'dancers.' The _Ren_, the _Ba_, the _Ka_, the _Sheut_, and the _Ib_: the name, the individual's personality, the life force, the shadow, and the heart," he replied. "Those throwing sticks are _jebau_, or 'fingers.' They are the dice, and determine the amount of spaces a player can move."

"Hm," Yugi thought pensively. Now, this was his kind of exhibit—it held an example of an ancient board game. It was quite amazing that it survived though the ages, not to be played again until it was rediscovered in the 1900s. During the time it was entombed, its legacy was passed on to games like Backgammon.

And then there was the religious aspect to it. Ancient Egyptians were said to have a firm belief in the afterlife. Plenty of their _known _mythology was centered around life, death, and rebirth. Their "holy book" was said to be the "Book of the Dead." But that was also a mistranslation, or perhaps an entire misinterpretation. The "Book of Passing" was also a title, but a more accurate name could be "Spells of Coming (or Going) Forth by Day". With ancient Egyptian being a dead language, no one was for sure.

"…and sometimes the players would place a wager on each piece, to see whose essence would leave first," Bakura finished. Noticing that Yugi was lost in thought he apologized, "Ah, sorry. Sometimes I tend to rant about history."

"That's okay…Hey, why don't we play a round? The gift shop probably has some imitation Senet for something cheap," Yugi suggested.

"Just can't go without playing a game for too long, can we?"

"Not at all," Yugi grinned. He was, after all, the King of Games.

They made their way back to the first floor gift shop, where a scrawny teenager with acne scars stared lazily at the Modern Marvels marathon on the television. Yugi browsed though the children toy's aisle, feeling completely at home. There were some neat trinkets to be found only at gift shops, that was for sure. Perhaps he would purchase some of those gag post cards and send them to his friends.

Eventually, Yugi made his way to the Egypt-themed wall, where a boxed Senet was on display. It had cheesy hieroglyphics on its side, along with the label 'Ages 7+'. He grabbed the game, its pieces clinking against each other within the container. Yugi scooted to the register and handed the clerk the board game.

"Just this?" she droned.

"Yes, please."

"May I see your ID?"

"…Excuse me?"

"Just kidding," she said, pointing to the age requirement on the box. Apparently, she thought she was funny. Unfortunately, her uninterested and jaded attitude made the joke fail wonderfully.

"Excuse me, here—use this card. I receive a discount on purchases," Bakura handed the girl his Domino Museum ID.

The girl scanned the card.

"Thanks, Bakura. Now the ten dollar item will be seven," Yugi said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Still, he was grateful. He handed some cash over to the lady, which she readily took.

"Here you go," the clerk said, handing Yugi a plastic bag containing the Senet and his change.

Yugi accepted and they proceed on their way out of the gift shop.

Ten minutes later, the salesclerk, finally feeling her recent drug high escaping her, eventually grasped the situation. She had just sold the King of Games a –who would've thought?—GAME!

"So, where shall we set this up?" Bakura asked.

Yugi shrugged, "Anywhere, I guess. You have an office here?"

"Of course. Follow me."

This was the museum as Yugi had never known. For the public, three floors of exhibit. Underground were the catacombs of sealed in-murals or old showings, cemented and boxed in relics from shows long forgotten. Other floors were state of the art laboratories that tested fossils for ancient DNA and carbon dating. Freezers for keeping giant whale skeletons intact, humidity-controlled cloth rooms, and some other assortment of offices and labs comprised the rest of the institute.

"Here's my office…at least until I go on another dig, hopefully," Bakura said, unlocking the reddish-brown door. It was a standard room. A coffee table, two sofas for visitors, a sturdy desk, computer, and chair were arranged in a typical way. On one side of the was a nice display case, filled with yellow and black mica potsherds, meteorite samples, a carved wooden skull, shreds of eastern flags, and some rocks engraved with hieroglyphs.

"Did you find all of these?" Yugi inquired, looking at strangely formed meteorite that had the label 'Isla Desalación, Chile' alongside another labeled 'Carancas, Puna, Peru.'

"I was just lucky to find myself on the sites on which I was employed," he said, and then nodded towards the coffee table. "Someday, I want to run my own expedition."

Yugi picked up the papers on the table, looking over them, "South America…Peru? You want to excavate something about the Incan Empire?"

"Yes. Their society is considerably recent—their golden age was around the 1400s, so all the samples will at least be in better shape than those of the Middle East or Africa," he elaborated.

"That's good."

"An archeologist's dream come true: a 'ancient' civilization that went extinct only a few hundred years ago, instead of the typical thousands and thousands of years," he said. "In addition, there much to learn about them, especially concerning the Nazca lines."

"Nazca lines?"

"Yes. No one knows how the ancient peoples formed such gigantic pictograms. However, some say the Incans raced amongst each other in some sort of ritual to draw great powers," Bakura smiled as he sat on the couch adjacent to Yugi.

"Well, I can't say that I heard stranger," Yugi said, opening up the Senet box. Really, at this point, he was willing to believe anything.

The board unraveled neatly, its cardboard edges decorated with Egyptian motifs and tacky artwork. Yugi looked at the playing pieces, "Do you want to be the spools or the cones?"

"Doesn't matter to me."

"Okay, then…I'll be the cones," Yugi handed the five spool _yebau _to Bakura. "I remember playing a little when I was younger, but _you_ have the idea of the game, right?"

Bakura nodded, "Generally, yes."

"I can learn as I go along," Yugi said, setting up his pieces on the tiles numbered two, four, six, eight, and ten. Bakura set his spools on one, three, five, seven, and nine.

"First off, we need to toss the _jebau _to see who goes first. We toss until only one of us reveals an uncolored side facing up—whoever achieves this starts," Bakura said.

First Try: Yugi-color, Bakura-color

Second: Yugi-color, Bakura-uncolored

"Looks like you play first," Yugi commended.

"Then I'll explain how to count the _jebau _tossed," he nodded. "One uncolored side up: one square, two sides: two squares, three sides: three squares, all uncolored sides showing: four squares, and finally, all colored sides showing: five squares."

Yugi nodded.

"If one tosses a one, four, or five, they may toss again until they receive a two or three. From there, they may use any arrangement of the numbers they earned on any of their _yebau, _but only once per piece," Bakura explained. "If a piece stands alone, with two adjacent squares on either of its sides, that piece is called 'undefended.' A 'blocked' piece is the opposite. A player can attack an undefended piece, but if the piece is blocked or is next to another, it is safe. Understand so far?"

"Yes, it's coming back to me bit by bit," Yugi tilted his head. "What do those symbols on the board mean?"

Bakura pointed to the twenty-sixth square, which had a falcon engraved upon its surface. "This is _Per Nefer, _or Beautiful House, or House of Happiness—call it what you will. A player may only roll a five to advance the piece," he said. Next the motioned the next square where three wavy lines were displayed, "This is _Per Mu, _House of Water—a general trap. To exit, the player must toss a four, or move their pawn to the House of Rebirth on square fifteen." Square fifteen displayed a plain ankh.

"I see." _I'll have to avoid that tile if I want to win quickly._

"House of the Three Truths, or Three Thumbs, is the twenty-eighth. A pawn may only leave when a three is thrown," he motioned to the pictogram of three circles. The next tile depicted a colored, 'weeping' eye with feathers as its lashes. "Likewise, the twenty-ninth tile is called the House of Re-Atoum, and one can only role a two to advance off the board."

The final square had an orange circle and inaccurate fake hieroglyphs. "From the last square, you can move with any toss of the _jebau_," Bakura said, and then breathed. "I think that's all of it."

"Okay, then let's get started," Yugi smiled. "I believe it was your move?"

"Yes," Bakura tossed the _jebau, _which clattered on the short table.

**Four, one, one, five, two.**

"First, I move my spool from square nine to thirteen. Next, from seven to twelve, and last from five to seven," Bakura announced, sitting back. "And I believe that's all I can do for the moment."

"Okay, here goes," Yugi tossed and jumbled the sticks.

**Four, one, four, two.**

"I make my cone leave ten for fourteen, six I send to ten, and to wrap this round up: four to six," Yugi finished. "Well, it's interesting so far."

"I'm glad to hear that, coming from the most renowned gamer," Bakura said.

"Well, this game has been in existence since—you could argue—from the dawn of civilization," Yugi pointed out. "I'd think it'd _have_ to be interesting to last this long though the centuries."

"Alight, here goes," Bakura threw the sticks.

**One, five, four, three.**

"I suppose…first, thirteen to eighteen, then one to five," he paced his pieces along the tiles of the board. "Seven to ten—I attack your cone, so your piece is sent back to seven. Finally, three to four."

"Heh, I should have seen that coming," Yugi let out a soft laugh, picking up his sticks and tossing them.

**Four, four, three.**

"Time for some payback—with interest. I move from eight to twelve, kicking your piece back to eight. Next, I hove from six to ten, again knocking yours back to six," Yugi rearranged the pieces. "Then I move from fourteen to seventeen. Done."

"Nice moves, Yugi!" Bakura praised. "Let's hope if I'll have such luck." He tossed the _jebau._

**Four, three.**

"Sorry, but I must reverse a move you just made: I attack eight to twelve," Bakura stated. "Then, I move six to nine."

"That's all well and good," Yugi said as he tossed for his turn.

**Three.**

"Oh well," Yugi accepted. "I move from seventeen to twenty, ending my turn."

Bakura tossed the two-colored sticks.

**Four, two.**

"I move nine to thirteen, and then attack eighteen to twenty," Bakura said.

"Right, right," Yugi nodded, reaching and tossing the sticks.

**Five, three.**

"I move ten to fifteen, and then seven to nine," Yugi said, a bit disappointed.

Bakura threw next.

**Four, four, three.**

"Hm, that was a good throw," he remarked. "First, I move thirteen to seventeen. Then I attack twelve to fifteen, and finally I move twenty to twenty-four. How's that?"

"C'mon, _jebau, _lend me some luck!" Yugi tossed the sticks. Bakura's spool was already on the final row of the board.

**Four, four, five, three.**

"Great!" Yugi cheered, and quickly made his move. "I move two to six, twelve to sixteen, eighteen to twenty-three, and then nine to twelve." _If I take this slow and steady, I can still turn this game around._

"You always seem to have a stroke of luck when things are looking tough," Bakura remarked as he tossed for his moves.

Yugi said nothing in return. How could he? It could be called luck, but it was actually his innate ability for fate to be on his side. Perhaps that _was _manipulation of destiny, to call on the 'luck of the draw' or the 'spirit of the duel' or the 'heart of the cards' whenever he needed boost in play.

Whatever it was, it just _was_. It was a natural aspect of himself.

**Five, one.**

Bakura said, "I move twenty to twenty-one, and then fifteen to twenty… Space-wise, I'm still leading."

"Just you wait," Yugi warned, but Bakura was right. "My turn!"

**Four, two.**

"I move my cone from twenty to twenty four, then the one on five to seven," Yugi smiled slyly. "That ends my turn."

Bakura looked as if he was suppressing a chuckle, and threw.

**Four, four, two.**

"Not bad," Bakura observed. Then after pausing for a moment, he added, "I move twenty-five to twenty-eight, five to nine, and then attack twenty-one to twenty-three."

"What was so funny?" Yugi inquired.

"The way you're declaring your turn phases," he told Yugi.

"I don't understand…you mean, as in _dueling_?" Yugi thought aloud. The laughed, "You're right. But I'm just enjoying myself. Having confidence in declaring each move is good."

**Four, one, one, four, three.**

"Twenty-one to twenty-five, eighteen to twenty-two, attack eight to nine, six to seven, and…sixteen to nineteen," Yugi moved his cones about the tiles, moving one of Bakura's back to eight. He added with emphasis, "_I end my turn_."

"Very well_," _Bakura flipped the _jebau._

"So, you know my story, as it's on the news all the time," Yugi tried for a conversation. "How have _you _been since, um, high school?"

In essence, 'high school' meant the whole _ordeal_. The event of that fearsome and still helplessly (or gratuitously) unspoken about occurrence was something that influenced their whole group. However, after that had happened, everyone had been thrust back into their daily lives, like catching up with neglected school work.

For Yugi, it was going on a world tour of sponsored tournaments. It was probably his dream job, but it left him alone many days and nights of the year, a concept he hadn't experienced since his freshman year.

It had taken some time explaining all the events of which of something Bakura was only vaguely aware, but nonetheless, he had accepted it much better than Kaiba. For Bakura, the end meant freedom from the evil spirit. But somehow, Yugi had felt that beneath the quite, well mannered nature, he was missing _something_.

That sense of having two minds was something indescribable. Yugi had let his tears flow when his dear friend left. In stark contrast, and quite believably, Bakura had not. According to Bakura, unlike his own 'Yami', the Spirit of the Millenium Ring was a malevolent entity that completely dominated the mind when active. Bakura had once explained that the ring itself was the only memento of his father before he had passed away, and that was why he was a bit sad to see it go.

"Well, it must have been tough," Yugi said, sliding back against the couch.

"I believe that I've been filling in the missing pieces with new memories of my own," Bakura briefly elaborated.

"It must have been boring not to see what was happening around you."

For a brief moment, Bakura's eyes narrowed. "That's…right," he said slowly.

"Guess it was for the best—you probably wouldn't have wanted to see us fighting," Yugi realized that he could be projecting a bit much. He straightened up. "But you would have loved ancient Egypt. To build those pyramids all those years ago—really blew my mind."

"They're still magnificent today," Bakura said, and then changed the subject. "And I believe it was _my move._"

**One, two.**

"I just suppose that's the way it is," he said, his expression that of disappointed acceptance. "I'll just move twenty-three to twenty-four...and then attack twenty to twenty-two."

Yugi threw up the _jebau, _"Now it's my turn."

**One, one, three.**

"To begin, I move my cone on space twenty to twenty-one, and then nine to twelve," he dictated. "Finally, I'll move from twenty-five to _Per Nefer._"

"Good job," Bakura complemented. "Now the next time all your color sides face up, that _yebau _will pass on." He threw up the sticks.

**Five, four.**

"I move four to nine, twenty four to the House of Three Truths," Bakura said.

"Okay," Yugi said, but then thought, _So now, he has the opportunity to score a point. For me to score next I'll have to toss a five._

**Five, five, three.**

_Well, that was nice. _"My turn," Yugi began. "First, I'll make my cone on the twenty-sixth square pass on. Then: twelve to seventeen, and twenty-one to twenty-four."

**Three.**

"I tie our score by making my spool on tile twenty-eight move off the board," Bakura relayed. "So now we're even…but I suppose not for long."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Yugi replied. "This game certainly gets interesting once the pieces move towards the end."

Bakura paused. "You know, this board is said to represent life," he informed. "In real life, the older one gets, the more one winds down. In stark contrast stands _any _game—the end holds the cardinal points."

"That's an interesting point…pun not intended," Yugi said, as he tossed the _jebau _into the air. "I guess you're saying that because the end of the game has the most thrills." _The actual ending, however, is actually the most melancholic part._ He always wanted a game to continue, but because of his level of expertise, they always seemed to end prematurely.

**Four, one, two.**

"I'll move twenty four to the House of Three Truths," he stopped and looked at the board for a moment. "Then, from nineteen to twenty and seventeen to nineteen. That ends my turn."

"Okay, my turn," Bakura said.

**Five, five, two.**

"I move nine to fourteen, eight to thirteen, twenty-two to twenty-four," he said. "Your move."

**Five, three.**

_It looks like I won't be able to surpass his pieces on squares thirteen and fourteen if things keep up like this, but I don't have much choice. _"I move seven to twelve," he said. "Then I move the cone from the House of Three Thumbs to the afterlife, putting me ahead by one point."

"Well done, Yugi. You seem to be getting the hang to this," Bakura flattered as Yugi passed the game piece off the board.

Physically, it was simply a plastic figure moving off the field; spiritually, that part of the soul had successfully passed onto the next realm. Yugi wondered exactly which part that particular cone represented. He wondered if there were additional rules to the game. For example, if a certain attribute were assigned to each _yebau, _giving them distinct qualities and advantages over the others…

"Becoming interested?"

Yugi snapped out of his thoughts, letting out an embarrassed sigh, "I was just wondering if there was anything more to the pieces being played."

Bakura shook his head, his hair naturally becoming more unruly with each side movement. Really, it was amazing (or ridiculous) how nothing seemed to tame that mane. Then again, Yugi wasn't the one to talk.

"I have to say, though the layout is simple, there's _some_ strategy," Yugi admitted, looking at the arrangements of the _yebau_ on the board. "A lot of different things can happen in one turn."

"Come now; it's a game," Bakura chuckled at Yugi's serious expression. "You should try and have fun."

Yugi stiffened at the suggestion, studying Bakura for a moment. Though his various duels worldwide, he had learned so much more than strategies for securing a victory. On the surface, games were activities that one felt could be performed—they were challenges that required skill. A game required concentration, something that would dissociate the player from time. A game had clear goals and a clear set of activities required to reach said goal.

"My turn," Bakura announced, throwing the wooden sticks carelessly.

**One, four, four, four, five, four, three.**

The archeologist paused to think about his next moves.

Meanwhile, Yugi was still absorbed in his own. _He's not going to score this round, _Yugi thought. _But what he does next could alter the duel to his favor. _

In all of his duels, Yugi gave his best. And as much as he would like games to go on for longer periods of time, to go easy on an opponent would be dishonorable. He always enjoyed the feeling when he was completely absorbed in the game—where everything else became irrelevant, and where only the opponent, the cards, himself, and the thrill existed.

"I'll move this one on fourteen to eighteen. Next, thirteen to seventeen, and finally twenty-four to the House of Re-Atoum," Bakura finished up, pleased with his turn. "All yours."

Yugi nodded, tossing for his numbers._I don't need much, but I need _good _numbers._

**Five, four, two.**

But of course, there were other players that did not share his enthusiasm for playing. Those players tended to either overestimate or underestimate him. Other times, the players would just not duel their best, fearing admitting failure from dueling their hardest. And although Yugi never technically lost a duel, it wasn't because he feared losing—it was just because he was _that _good. People said that one could sometimes learn more from losing than winning. Secretly, Yugi wondered what that was…

"I move twenty to twenty five, twelve to sixteen, nineteen to twenty-one," Yugi decided. _This Senet is getting down to it last turns, and one of my cones always falls right behind his. If the tosses like this keep up, my own piece won't bypass his._

**Four, one, five, three.**

"Sorry, but—I play seventeen to twenty-one," Bakura immediately attacked one of Yugi's. "Then Eighteen to twenty-three; and that's all for now."

"You don't need to apologize," Yugi waved his hand. "That's the nature of any game."

"Not quite true, I'm afraid," Bakura lowered his eyes. "In Senet, there are neither draws nor ties; only one winner is declared. Only the one ready to move on is allowed to cross."

"Excuse me?"

"Part of the myth of this game," he explained quietly. "The Egyptians believed that only those destined pass on successfully were meant to win. For the dead, losing mean one still had ties. For the living, it meant that something was holding back the person in life."

"You don't say," Yugi said, trying to grasp the concept.

"But it was all just a metaphor. We now know today winning a game has more to do with skill than a subconscious effort of representing the anchors in life…well, that's not all true, either," he allowed himself a small smile. "There is a thing called 'luck.'"

Of course, luck here meant Yugi's natural influence over the fates. He didn't intend for this ability. It was totally beyond him—a skill of which he was only somewhat tapping into control. But what the Egyptians believed about Senet—that it could represent the inner workings of a mind—he too believed. In fact, all games told a little bit about the opponent, and himself.

The King of Games threw the _jebau._

**One, four, three.**

Throughout his life, Yugi had only ever dueled Ryou Bakura a few times. Like everyone else, Bakura lost. Now, Yugi wished he had played with him some more, just to understand his nature. Knowing more about a person increased their predictability in a game—he could use that in Senet.

_I have to move that one cone out of its stuck position. _"Huh. How about this: sixteen to seventeen," Yugi decided. "Then I attack twenty five to twenty-nine, then seventeen to twenty."

"Ah, so now you are on the House of Re-Atoum," Bakura observed, as Yugi exchanged the pieces. "Now all you have to throw is a two, and you score again."

"Hey, don't cheer me yet—getting to last base isn't scoring a home run," Yugi half-smiled. _But it does help._

Yugi shook his head; it was troubling, sometimes, to always think about life in terms of winning or losing a game. He could already see that in his relationships with others. Somehow, it made him feel a bit despicable; other times, it literally helped him make the winning move.

Unfortunately, despite going to the same high school together, Yugi still only minimally knew the guy. For example, only recently had he learned that Bakura once had a sibling. Quite the awkward surprise when he replied that she had died.

Bakura jostled the playing sticks.

**Three.**

"I'll just move twenty-five to the House of Three Truths," Bakura moved one spool.

**Four, one, Five, Two.**

Yugi grimaced at his obvious 'luck.' Sometimes—just sometimes—he thought it wasn't fair to the other player. "Twenty to twenty-four, seventeen to twenty-two, and then I pass off the House of Re-Atoum to score again." That slice of soul was now in the afterlife. Somehow, Yugi felt bad to see it go, even though it was just a metaphor.

If there was such a thing as learning from losing, then perhaps he was never meant to learn that truth.

Or, perhaps, he had already lost something far greater. Yugi looked at the Senet board. But then…why was he winning all the time? In this game of Senet, to win was to essentially have your _yebau _pass on. But that would be sad—that would, in fact, be losing…losing a piece of the soul that the piece represented. Was there something else to the game he had not seen before?

It sure was a backwards game…

Then again, _yebau _danced though the board of life. To keep them on that board after they went through all thirty blocks would be a cruel throw of the _jebau_. So…in losing—no, in _letting go_ did one actually win.

Yugi glanced at the board. He was two cones left on tiles twenty-two and twenty-four. Bakura had one spool on twenty-one, twenty-three, and twenty-eight. He would probably score in the next turn, that is, if he rolled a three and not a two.

**Four, one, four, one, one, three.**

"I move twenty-one to twenty-five," Bakura said. "And then I score from the House of Three Truths to the afterlife. Now we are tied."

"So we are," Yugi nodded slowly, reaching for and then throwing the sticks. "My turn."

**One, five, two.**

"Twenty-four to the House of Re-Atoum again, and then twenty-two to twenty-four," Yugi announced. He realized he was getting the hang of the names for the tiles.

**Four, Three.**

"I attack twenty-five to yours in the House of Re-Atoum," Bakura said, pushing Yugi's game piece back four places. "Then from twenty-three to the House of Three Truths."

Yugi took the sticks into his hands, "My turn."

**Three.**

"Well, Bakura, it looks like my piece gets its own revenge: I attack twenty-five to yours in the House of Three Truths." Yugi concluded, "I end my turn."

**Two.**

"My spool passes from the House of Re-Atoum to bring me one point ahead," Bakura said, relieving his spool from the board.

_He's now ahead of me by one. _Yugi glanced hesitantly at the sticks and the board. _Per Mu is tile number twenty-seven. Rolling a three would then be the worst-case scenario. _He tossed the _jebau._

**Two.**

"I move twenty-four to the House of Happiness—_Per Nefer,_" Yugi sighed in relief.

**Five.**

Bakura stopped his tossing, "I only have one piece, so that's all the choices I'll need. I move from twenty-five to the final, thirtieth, tile."

_Uh-oh. On that square, it doesn't matter what he tosses—anything will have that spool off the board, _Yugi thought. _That would score him his last point, and then he'll win._

He looked at the game pieces. _I'm on _Per Nefer _and the House of Three Truths. I'll need to toss a four during my throwing, but my ending toss will _have to be _a three. Otherwise, I'll lose. _Yugi held the _jebau _in his hands, thinking of how throwing sticks felt like the finger bones of the hands of Fate. Well, Bakura did say that _jebau _meant 'fingers.'

Yugi looked up at Bakura. Clearly, even he knew what the arrangement of his one spool and Yugi's two cones meant. This would be the final, determining move. _Let's see if I have moved on…_

He tossed the _jebau, _their two colored sides twisting with gravity towards the coffee table in slow motion. On the glass, they clattered and jumbled.

**Four.**

That would take one piece safely off the board. Yugi felt Bakura adjust slightly from the other side of the table. He tossed again.

**One.**

**Five.**

Just then, Yugi felt it in his hands—a small, yet intense, feeling of security and calmness, a wave of inherent knowledge and revelation. _This is it, _he knew as he made his sure, final throw.

**Three.**

Yugi silently moved one cone from _Per Nefer _and another from the House of Three Truths off the board—to the afterlife.

There was a moment of silence as Yugi looked at all the pieces of the soul off the board, surrounded by some of the spools from Bakura's side. He then surveyed the almost empty board, where one of Bakura's spools was left right at the end. It was at the finale of its life—any sort of toss would have allowed it to pass.

But it had remained on that cardinal point—a spot that had the most potential energy, and required the least input to activate, yet was completely inhibited.

"I win," Yugi declared, looking from the lonely piece on tile thirty to his opponent.

Bakura once again offered a kind smile, "I lose."

TLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTL

Soooo! How was it? I hope it was good. I'm pretty new to the Yu-Gi-Oh! fiction. Suppose I should have read more, to see how other authors characterize Bakura and Yugi...gotta keep in line with the fandom, ya know?

Please Review!


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